Tokyo Sonata

Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Tokyo Sonata (2008) is dysfunctional family drama at its best. The film tells what happens to an ordinary Japanese family when the head of the family loses his job and the values of different generations clash.

There's a lot of things in the film's screenplay that made me angry - and they were supposed to be infuriating so that the central themes could arise. The father's shallow pride drives the family's daily routine into chaos which explodes in an unexpected and surreal way. The social commentary is luckily not heavy-handed and actually works quite well. The film ends in an open, ambiguous way which is probably the best way for a film like this - at least on an emotional level.

Kurosawa's form is not spectacular, but it works very well: intriguing compositions and relatively static/calm camerawork create the needed atmosphere for the harsh drama. The film's emotional impact relies on the acting - luckily the entire cast is phenomenal.

Tokyo Sonata is a film that confused me by betraying all expectations I had for the last 50 minutes of the film. My opinion of it might change when I watch it again some day, but right now I consider it a bewildering yet great film.

Score: 9 out of 10

Still Walking

Still Walking (2008) proves that the director Hirokazu Koreeda is the most fascinating Japanese filmmaker working today along with the infamous Sion Sono. Still Walking is an almost Ozu-like family drama which depicts a day in the life of a Japanese family when the grownup kids come and meet their parents with their own children to commemorate their dead sibling.

The film explores the contemporary family dynamics thoroughly - there's a LOT going on in the film. The dense narrative provides observations on generation gap (e.g. the values of grandparents are constantly put next to the modern ones), pride (e.g. the grandfather still acts like a doctor even though he's retired; the son doesn't want to reveal his occupational problems) and grief (e.g. the grandparents can't let go of their dead heir) among other themes. The characters are complex and fascinating - new layers are revealed gradually throughout the film. The conflicts within the family are handled in a restrained way which makes the film even more interesting.

Even though Koreeda's form reminds one of Ozu in the film with its static camera and similar framing, the film's editing patterns are vastly different. Most of the time there's a lot more cutting in Still Walking than in any of Ozu's films (there are a few longer takes as well). That way Koreeda makes the film his own so that it won't become "only" a tribute to Ozu. The form is very intimate and a bit minimal.

Still Walking is a wonderful, poignant film. I became so immersed into its world that I felt like I was a member of the lovely, dysfunctional family. There is something so poetic and lovable about each of the characters - they are so wounded and flawed even though they don't seem like that at first. 

Score: 10 out of 10